• What is the Christiansburg Institute Alumni Association, Inc. (CIAA)?

CIAA, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. CIAA’s stated purpose in their bylaws is to maintain Christiansburg Institute (CI) as a viable education and service organization through the ongoing organization of its members and their descendants. This purpose has a primary aim of commemorating and sustaining its outstanding achievements and legacy in the education of African Americans enabling them to serve their communities.

CIAA, Inc. is an atypical alumni association for many reasons, but most notably is that there aren’t new alumni every year. The last graduating class of CI was in 1966. Ten years after Christiansburg Institute closed, a group of alumni came together and planned a reunion. On July 2, 1977, at that event’s General Business Meeting they met to “get input from members and prospective members as to whether they would like to formulate a charter organization…” The outcome was the incorporation of Christiansburg Institute Alumni Association on December 11, 1978.

Between 1986-2011 CIAA, Inc. was gifted the Edgar A. Long building and other connected real estate.  The association also obtained historic designations and easements for the building and its 1.5 acres of land. Additionally, a lot next to the building was purchased in 2011 and through the relentless generosity of a handful of donors the final payment was made in 2021. CIAA, Inc. has reclaimed nearly 5 acres of the former school’s 185 acre campus.